1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a support and containment structure for persons who cannot maintain an adequate and functional position of the body, such as for example the disabled.
In particular the present invention is preferably applied where a person with motor difficulties needs support, such as for example a backrest, a corset or other for his/her trunk, which is able to accompany him/her in carrying out his/her daily activities with an adequate level of flexibility
2. Description of Related Art
For people who are unable to maintain an adequate and functional position of the body, such as for example the disabled, it is known that they must be supported by an adequate support, able to guarantee a certain stability, comfort and freedom of movement so they can participate in everyday activities. Indeed, a correct posture promotes the vital functions and increases people's personal abilities.
Disabled people have different support requirements according to the type of pathology by which they are affected, and to the defects in posture that need to be compensated.
Moreover, often the disabled constantly need support structures which accompany them in their everyday activities and, according to the activity which they carry out during the day, for example eating, reading, moving, they need structures that are more or less flexible, able to adapt to individual physiological needs.
Traditional support and containment structures are known, applied for example to carriages, chairs or other, to contain the trunk or pelvis of the disabled. These structures are made with a single frame, generally of rigid plastic material, and with a standard and ergonomic shape.
Such structures are generally padded and lined with spongy material or other, so as to make them more comfortable; additional accessories can be applied so as to improve the postural functionality, depending on the requirements and type of user.
One disadvantage of this traditional solution is that it addresses only the most “standardized” pathological situations: the structure in fact has a fixed level of rigidity and poor adjustability, whether the user has a good control of his/her movements or suffers uncontrolled spasms of the body.
In the first case the disabled person would need a structure able to guarantee great flexibility, in the second case he/she would need a more rigid structure.
A support and containment structure is also known comprising a support member with a mainly longitudinal development in a single piece, able to support the spine of the disabled person during his/her movements.
This solution has the disadvantage that it cannot easily be personalized and adapted to the individual characteristics and needs of the person for whom it is intended.
This because if the central element is made of flexible material, a subsequent stiffening is not possible, and vice versa, which makes the structure unsuitable to adapt to the continuous physiological adjustments to which the trunk of a disabled person may be subjected over time.
Another disadvantage of this solution is that the central element, being fixed and non-adjustable, is not suitable for all disabled persons but only for those with more standard pathologies and with a more regular bodily structure.
Another disadvantage of this solution is the presence of a lot of warehouse pieces, which renders the management of the warehouse costly and complex.
Other known solutions, on which the improvements made by the present invention are based, are described in the documents WO-A1-02/22067 and EP-A2-2.070.501.
Purpose of the present invention is to achieve a support and containment structure for disabled persons which can be personalized and is able to adapt to every type of requirement of the users and their movements, by means of a flexible structure which allows a precise but not fixed adjustment, able to follow the little movements of the persons, assisting them and providing, where necessary, a moderate control. It is therefore the disabled person who determines the position of the various modules of the support and containment structure and the level of rigidity of the structure.
The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.